Nevada Books

Just outstanding! Although things in Vegas have changed significantly since then (book was written in early to mid-80's), the details and history are fascinating and the stories timeless. I have re-read the book many times as so many of the pieces are hilarious. Only Vegas could offer the setting for such crazy happenings, and all are believable within the veil of Vegas' history. This is NOT another book teaching you how to win or play the games..this is just a great informative timepiece which is highly enteratining reading, of which you won't be able to put down.

Although written more than 10 years ago, this book still has a ton of usefull information. I met Mr. Vinson at Ceasers Palace about 5 years ago. He was giving free lessons on the basics of Craps. I had a chance to talk with him, and through our conversation relized he truly is part of the vanishing "Old Guard" of Las Vegas. His insights and stories are fasinating. If your headed, for Vegas for the first time take this book along. It's great fun to walk into a casino with your companions and start giving them the "insiders information". If your going back for more fun,this book is still a great help. Memorize his picture, I know you'll see him at Cearsers or some other major casino. I look forward to his new book and have pre-ordered it already. In the meantime get this book and have fun with the stories written by someone who "walks the walk" and "talks the talk".

I've never been a fan of the first person narrative, which is used way too much in this book. Too many of the quotes are attributed to unnamed sources and take place in anonymous casinos, which doesn't lend much credibility to them. Most of the facts are outdated, but I gave the author a little leeway in this, as I looked at this book as an insight into Vegas in the late seventies to mid eighties. One note of interest is that for this book, Vinson is referred to as a Casino Executive, but in his later works, I have seen him referred to as a humorist, hmm ... Buyer Beware! I'd rather read Pete Earley's Super Casino a second time.

This is a horrible book. It's very out date (was revised in the mid 80's) and a first grader could write a more interesting book. The stories are not that good and the data in the book is incorrect because of how old the book is.

While I'll be the first to admit that this book has some entertaining content in the form or gaming anecdotes and Vegas trivia, I can honestly say it's biggest claim to fame is the HORRIBLE writing style!

I was absolutely floored by the unending samples poor grammar, unclear sentences, pointless or cliche references, obvious self-promotion (at least 4 chapters contain glowing character references for John Gollehon, who just happens to be the publisher of the book...), etc etc. I'm sure this book turned the stomach of any professional editor who happened to crack the cover.

After the first 25 pages, this book had reached "train wreck" status with me - I was compelled to keep reading not for the content but to see how much worse it could possibly get. If you enjoy such literary self-torture, read this book. Otherwise, skip it.

I am a local anti-street prostitution activist in my area. I try to read everything I can on the effects of prostitution on society. I found this book to contain alot of great information that dispelled many popular prostitution myths. This book confirmed my belief that prostitution is not the world's oldest profession - but instead is the world's oldest abuse of women.

Farley has given us a fine new tool with which to understand and reveal prostitution. In my anti-violence work in Canada, I am always on the look out for fresh research that connects one form of male violence against women with another and that looks at our local situation with some sense of the importance of activist research and some global perspective. I have bought four copies of this book so far to make sure young activists get access to it. They are immediately won to it by the cover art and find the writing easy to engage. Then they settle in to the important information available to them in this pro woman work.

The cover of Ms. Farley's book says it all. Friends who saw me reading it asked if I was reading a book on the prison system or about Guantanamo Bay. When I explained that it was in fact, a book about the legal brothels in Nevada I was met with disbelieving eyes. Why would legal brothels need barbed wire around their premises? Certainly not to keep out the Johns.
Ms. Farley's book is compelling and hard hitting, exposing the "legal" prostitution industry for its corruption, its connection with trafficking in women and girls and its human rights violations against them. The picture she shows us, starting with the cover, exposes the dark side of this so called, "glamorous" business, for what it is, male power and privilege out of control.
Give a copy to a male friend and help to expose the dirty secrets of legal prostitution.

I have been out of the horrific sex industry for 8 years now, and I am so very grateful to Melissa for writing this very true look at what happens when a woman's body is reduced to something that can be rented for men's sexual gratification.
It is a painful read at times yet very true. Most people are horrified at the thought of women trapped in sexual slavery in other countries but when it comes to looking at what is happening in North America most people appease their guilt by using the word "choice" and then do nothing to change the systems that entraps women.
Melissa, Thank-you.

An objective study of the Nevada sex industry would be a fascinating read--but Farley is not an objective writer. She attempts to manipulate her readers through her use of emotion-laden descriptors, repeatedly referring to prostitutes selling themselves rather than their services to infer they are slaves rather than sex workers. She calls Nevada bordello operators pimps. Regardless of one's opinion of such people, a madame is not a pimp, and by blurring the definitions Farley undermines her credibility.

On 21 January 2008 the LAS VEGAS SUN published an article by Abigal Adamsn titled, "Bewildered, academics pore over sex-trade hysteria." This article describes how Farley's work contradicts research performed by the University of Nevada on the sex industry.

In contrast to Farley's book, Dr. Alexa Albert's BROTHEL is an objective, non-judgemental study of a segment of the Nevada sex industy. It's a pity that instead of updating Albert's work Farley instead chose to create a work of propaganda.

I picked up the hardcover edition of this book simply because I liked the cover - the paperback edition's photo isn't nearly as interesting.

This book has some very dynamic, well thought-out scenes - although it does tend to flounder a bit at times. The ending is also a little too predictable and anticlimatic. But the characters are compelling and there's just enough excitement and suspense to keep the reader on edge.

I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Betts has to be one of the best authors to ever come out of North Carolina. Her writing has a touch of realism that is seldom matched by writers. Her wit is brilliant. Her characters are moving. The story is hypnotic. Take a look at this book. A+

Although it had a rough start and I wasn't immediately intrigued by the story, this book works its way up to being great. I love Betts' use of the different points of view. It adds a whole new dimension to an otherwise somewhat simplistic storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, especially Paul's character. I don't know what it was that intrigued me so much about Paul.. he's just a very well written character.

I'm not "in love" with this book, but I certainly liked it. A sort of crunchy find-yourself-in-the-Nevada-woods narrative that borders on overly optimistic (while hiding out in the woods to escape her old life, Luna finds, naturally, a wonderful and off-beat man that just happens to live in a tent nearby. Oh, and a son of course. Who, despite his cavities, may just fit in just fine). Despite all this, however, Doris Betts managed to keep my interest with strong writing and interesting observations from the characters.

The characters, the plot and the dialogue of this novel were what I'd expect to find in typical romance novel. The characters were trite: the self-absorbed fiance, the longsuffering, misunderstood woman who just needs a warm, sensitive man, the warm, sensitive man, and the loveable child-abuse victim. The writing was good, the plot a bit predictable,and it would have been fine if I had been looking in the Harlequin section.

I was intrigued -- I thought it was an investigative report on Mr. Sinatra's final days (the tackiness of the title notwithstanding), but then I noted from the reviews quoted that this title came out *before* May 14, 1998 (the day of Old Blue Eyes' death) -- meaning this was just a work of fiction. Feh, pfui -- what a waste of my time! I'm interested in *real* books about Frank Sinatra, not fiction! How about someone coming out with a *good* discography?

OK, I picked up "The Death of Frank Sinatra" as an impulse-buy $2.99 hardcover from the "used library books" aisle...so I was pretty much purchasing it by-the-pound...no expectations, other than it was Vegas-fiction and sounded fun.

Now, I feel like I owe somebody. Which is not a good feeling in the hardboiled world Ventura describes so bristlingly.

I have been turned on to a fusion of genres so rich and bountiful, that a full $24.99 pricetag seems only fair. So...if anyone wants to collect the remainder, no pistol-whipping will be necessary.

It's quite simply pulp poetry.

Crackling descriptions of the blood-in-your-urine doings of a Vegas private dick, featuring characters that jump off the page to pin your arms back while kicking your nuts and a geo-real Vegas that resonates with anyone who can "recite" the Strip from the Alladin to the Sahara and whose secret desire is to be buried at the YESCO graveyard.

It's great stuff, and if you've never heard of Michael Ventura, (cause I sure as hell hadn't) you'll soon be saying the same thing I am now..."How the hell is this guy not being read on every Flight 711, instead of Grisham?"

...

The Hamlet-esque mind of Mike Rose is the hook to Ventura's "The Death of Frank Sinatra". His head whirls in the indecision of what he loves or hates and in some cases what or whom is the object of both extremes. The italicized asides in the first person are probably the strongest portions of the book as Rose's wannabe existentialist is continually crippled by loathing for himself, his past, his connections, and perhaps most of all, for Las Vegas which he believes is his puppet master and submissive lover all at once.

Here is the crux of the novel which centers on a private eye who has bathed with and been raised by mobsters but has remained on the edge of the precipice without ever truly jumping in. It is an intriguing dilemma when his unstable brother unwittingly blabs "too much" in front of a grizzled old Outfit veteran, although as with most of the book what is spoken is half said, a half truth and, well, to be blunt, only half convincing. It's all well and good having the circle of insecurity forever turning in one's head, but surely no group of people are as instantly tuned in as Ventura's characters are. It seems half the time that, whoever it is, they are inexplicably able to read their conversation partner's mind, irrespective of intelligence, age or familiarity. What we get is a series of unfinished statements and knowing glances, which doesn't quite wash.

At first, I thought the insight into Vegas, spearheaded by the persona and rep of Frank Sinatra - a nifty touch - was about as illuminating as a travel guide, but without really being conscious of it, the constant bombardment and repetition of the town's warts and all, became quite intoxicating and ultimately revealing. I was less convinced by the insider knowledge of the mob, which seemed to focus on shock value and sensationalism, in marked contrast to the understatement of the book's overall tone. The little nuances that are so prevalent in Scorsese's films, for example, that help to humanize and rationalize are absent for the most part here.

The plot is convoluted and difficult to grasp with several intertwining threads that don't really mesh. However, in truth, most of the action happens in Rose's head, so that's not as disastrous as it sounds. Still, there seemed to be several loose ends that Ventura was content to let lie, which was a little unsettling.

Overall, I felt it was indulgent and melodramatic, teetering on the edge between dark social commentary about an inately corrupt city, and simply incoherent rambling, but the well expressed sadness and stolid, if misguided defiance of the central character, along with the admitted originality of the style was enough to earn 3 stars. Just.

I think Michael Ventura had to use the context of a crime novel to get his story published. However, this novel is really a journey of his own self-discovery. He reminds me of Herman Hesse in the way he constantly enters and exits different doors in his own psyche -- almost at random. The central character, Mike Rose, has a mentally ill older brother. So does Ventura. Avid readers of Ventura's essays know this, and it is very easy for said readers to imagine that Mike Rose is Ventura. If you just want a murder mystery, this won't work for you unless you are particularly daring -- and patient. But, if you like to see someone get to the heart of himself, take a chance. You might be blown away by Ventura's prose. Light reading, this is not, but it is very interesting.

Michael Ventura really knows how to tell a story that's more than just plot or characterization, but also SAYS something. I bought this book, read it right through, and then re-read it in bits right away, just for the enjoyment of it. This is as good as it gets.

I have always found the Moon Handbooks to be good reference material. I had the 2001 version of the same book but of course things change in a few years time. The current version is about half the size of the old one and I have not had the time to discern the difference in the two books. Perhaps the new one is more of an abridged version. In any event it is still a very useful tool and will be used in our upcoming trip to that area.

I looked at this in the book store, saw that the first 129 pages are just about Las Vegas, and almost didn't buy it.

But it is a pleasure to read. We used it to choose an RV park along Rt 80 in Northern Nevada, and the discriptions just were funny.

We saw things that we would not of had we not bought this book.

Way back in the early 90s I bought my first copy of Castleman's Nevada Handbook. I was astonished at the breadth and depth of the book, and I was delighted at the author's idiosyncratic but engaging style. I liked the book so much I actually wrote Castleman a letter of praise (this was pre-Amazon). As new editions came out every three years or so, I bought each one. (I visit Nevada annually.) Unfortunately, someone decided this new edition needed to be a mere ghost of previous editions. I can't fathom what the idea was here. It wasn't just to make room for more Vegas information, because this edition is much shorter than previous ones. Reading over comments from other readers, I notice that the positive reviews seem to come from people who never saw the previous editions. Those who'd seen earlier versions of the book are, like me, deeply disappointed. What a shame that some editor somewhere decided "Hey, I've got an idea --- let's take this great book and make it WORSE."

This edition of the Moon Nevada guide, along with the 2006 overhaul of the Moon Colorado guide, seems to represent the ongoing decline of a once-great publishing idea. While other guidebooks offered only the best-known tourist areas for middle-class and above budgets, Moon was offering comprehensive tours of entire states and plenty of options for budget travelers. But now Moon seems to be catering more to richer tourists and more glamorous vacations. This Nevada edition concentrates more on Las Vegas and eliminates many off-the-beaten path towns, even places like Beatty, gateway to Death Valley and famous for its own local mining and ghosttown history. The message seems to be that National Parks-minded and history-minded tourists don't matter beside the glitter of Las Vegas.

Because I loved previous editions of this book, I bought this new edition in anticipation of a trip back to the fabulous state of Nevada. Despite my former enthusiasm for the book, I have to give this edition a less than glowing review, mainly because many of my favourite places in the state were deleted, in order to expand coverage of just about every casino in Las Vegas, Reno and Tahoe. It's still well-written, but no longer can we read about such enigmatic places as Jarbidge, Searchlight and many of the other friendly, quirky, off-the-beaten-track towns and villages that make Nevada such a wonderful place to explore. Therefore, real Nevada-philes may want to give it a miss and try to get hold of a copy of the previous edition.

It's an unmemorable love story but lovely how she wove falcons around themes of love and death.

I was deeply touched by this small, but profound and lyrical story. Well written and developed and, it deals with the ultimate issues of life and death with sensitivity and passion.

I too was amazed this was the author's first book...and disappointed to find no others available by her.

Though "The Falconer" has been compared to "Bridges of Madison County," all it really has in common with that book is its length and the fact that it's a love story. I feel that the way it was packaged and promoted did it a disservice; it's about choices, and about taking the risk of really loving. It's about how to live your life, or my life, perhaps, because there's always something of the author in any book. I'd love to hear from readers. My website is just my first and last names dot com. Drop a line! Thanks.

This is, undoubtedly, a very profound and moving love story. What makes this different from "Bridges Over Madison County" or any number of other moving tales of love is that this one is told from the perspective of a dying woman, looking back over her very recent past. Through her pain and her drugs, she is somehow able to remember vividly some very heart warming facts about the one and only time she ever loved, and was loved in return. This is an easy read, and will leave you feeling strangely fulfilled and warm. This review refers to the hardcover edition of this story.

After letting "THE FALCONER" sit on my bookshelf collecting dust for nearly 5 years, I finally read McCarthy's short novel this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised. Filled with wonderful prose and heart-felt emotion, "THE FALCONER" pulled me in quickly and I nearly finished it within one sitting. It's like "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY" meets "THE HORSE WHISPERER" meets "LOVE STORY" --only better. I'm just sorry that it ended after only a mear 140 pages! Try and finish this one without grabbing for the kleenex...

This book is a waste of money and I can't see anyone spending this kind of money on such a poorly written book, with such terrible photography. I read it after someone else bought it. I read their copy. Boy was he ticked to have bought a pig in a poke! He said he won't buy anything else by this author.

My wife and I both liked this book. We like all of this writer's books. We bought everyone of her books.

This author has a way of telling a ghost story that makes you carefully read each gripping page of this book cover to cover. I couldn't put this one down! Janice Oberding is an expert writer and story teller. This book is very well written and I would highly recommend it to everyone, you won't be sorry you bought it. Even if you don't believe in ghosts this book is very entertaining and rich in Nevada history, it keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next exciting ghostly tale.

This book is a fascinating look into haunted Nevada.
The updated 2nd edition is now out.

Janice Oberding has researched EXTREMELY thoroughly for this book. She is extremely knowledgeable about hauntings in Nevada.

There are many, many photographs of ghostly Nevada sites-- all of them EXCELLENT.

I look very forward to her upcoming book- Carson City's Ghosts.
She also has published Legends and Ghosts of the Lake Tahoe area-among many other Nevada haunted books.

(...)

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.

I picked this book up at a ghost conference and got to meet the author as well. She is very nice, and extremely knowledgable on the ghosts and history of Nevada. Based on the the repeated negative reviews by one reader, Ms. Oberding has a jealous enemy with an ax to grind.
I think this is a neat little book, and does it's best to give the reader a taste of this states ghostly hangouts. I would recommend it!

Bly gives you a great story and wondeful characters. Fergus is my favorite. I have read the whole series and they are so funny and not preachy which I appreciate. Keep up the great writing!

Have you ever read a book and just were not sure what to make of it? Well...such a thought flows through your mind as you traverse with the travelers found in "Fools Gold."

The book is mixed with Christianity, humor and some silly things that just don't jive. You are thrown in the middle of the Skinner family that arrives in Goldfield amidst a raging fight between two men of the settlement. The Skinners have no desire to strike it rich in this mining town, but end up camping there as unauthorized missionaries in 1905. They were headed to California but everyone needed them in Goldfield to bring direction and light to their self-centered and self-seeking community.

O.T. Skinner becomes a hero as a "wall walker" who masterfully acquires water for his family without paying an outlandish fee which results in the whole community being indebted to him as free flowing aqua arrives for all. His wife is the concluding heroine, but you will have to read about that yourself-I won't let the famished cat out of the bag.

Some of Bly's writing is quite humorous and inventive but at times you cannot imagine the situation in logical unfolding circumstances. Most of the tale is unrealistic and you just have to get past this. You never truly feel a part of the characters lives and you wonder why such good Christian people would get so involved with silly stupid outlaws. The Bible scriptures concerning bad company corrupting good morals and not putting one's trust in man are totally ignored.

No verses are stated in the book, which is a disappointment. However, family principles and being above reproach teach the reader values of priceless gold. True gems are found in a redeemed soul not in "paydirt."

I really disliked this book. It's a fairly cliche story, and the characters have nothing particularily special about them. Pretty much, it's about the "perfect christian family" that manages to, through goodness, help make a nasty environment better. The characters are all saccharine and have no distinct personality, except for being perfect and good and unselfish. They run into all sorts of people who seem like bad people, but the family helps them anyways, and of course it all works out. An extremely predictable book with nothing special about it. It seems like stephen bly is just churning out novel after novel without really making any one novel distinct.

Circa 1905, O.T. Skinner takes his wife and 4 children on a move to Dinuba, CA where he has family and a grape farm waiting. The trip is hard, and he passes through the dusty, gambling, carousing gold rush town of Goldfield, Nevada. He plans to stay just long enough to rest his family and his mules and head right out, but water is a precious commodity and he discovers an heroic way to become the talk of the town. In the meantime, he meets two different sets of rowdy gang members, or so they seem. In addition, he pitches his tent right beside a drunken father with a starving family. The Godliness and goodness of the Skinner family is indescribable and so refreshing. Stephen Bly has me ready for book 2.

Simple, sweet story of a family who finds themselves stuck in a city bent on finding gold, no matter the cost. From characters who spout Shakespeare to bad guys bent on revenge, this is a fun ride. Underlying message of faith is not preachy, but shows that a man of faith can impact others, even a city, if he lives what he believes.

I have been a fan of CSI for about three years now and got into reading the books by Max Allan Collins in December of last year. The books follow the timeline of the television show but are understandably behind what is happening there. For instance, Killing Game is set in the time when Grissom's team had been broken up by Ecklie and Grissom was still head of the graveyard shift and had Sara, Greg and Sophia reporting to him and Catherine had become head of the swing shift and had Warrick and Nick reporting to her.

I found Killing Game to be very compelling and will just say that if you are a fan of the show, you will enjoy the read.

KILLING GAME is another enjoyable CSI story, although I found the actual plot to be a bit too predictable for my taste. However, I finished this story in a day, and was happy with the advanced character-development that this particular story held. If you enjoy CSI as much as I do, you won't be disappointed in reading these serialized novels.

I enjoyed this book - I have been reading the series in order and can't wait for the next one to come out. You don't need to read them in order, though, and if you are just starting to read them, while this one is good, I would suggest "Binding Ties" -- it's better.

Wonderful descriptions and a great plot for all those who love the show. Characters are amazingly defined and seperated by thier thoughts.

While I enjoyed it, I thought that Max Allan Collins once again put too much emphasis on his original characters. Why not use the characters (like the lab techs) that exist in the CSI universe instead of creating new ones like the computer genius he's so enamoured with?

this book is extremely condensed into a multitude of thumbnails or panoramas and text that never fails to reiterate its point. i mean, these two architects really understand the idea of symbols, suggestions, and sheds but after a dozen pages on one idea, you already get the point.

the images are really helpful in exemplifying the amount of criticism for or against the city ("idea") of las vegas.

Read this book to learn what you shouldn't do as an architect!

This book follows Venturi's "Complexity and Contradiction", where you can learn how cynically to use casement windows in housing for the elderly where the elderly will happily put their plastic flowers in the windows, but *you* secretly know these are not really hormal casement windows, since they are out of scale (like fascist architecture's lack of scale?).

This book will tell you about ducks and decorated sheds, but it will tell you nothing about building spaces which nourish creative human community. Try Louis Kahn (e.g., John Lobell's lovely little book "Between Silence and Light"). My postmodernist teachers at Harvard said Kahn's writings were incomprehensible, which says more about them than about him.

Read Lobell's book and learn why, e.g., a city might deserve to exist. Remember: Only *you* can get beyond postmodernism!

This is a quite unusual and offbeat treatise on architectural theory, as applied to the world's greatest architectural monstrosity - Las Vegas. This analysis from the early 1970s is obviously outdated because Las Vegas hadn't yet become the monument to megalomania and excess that it is today, but it was already well on its way. The authors analyze Vegas' unique usages of space, lighting, placement, transportation, and building design for the purposes of communication and promotion. Strange chapter titles give a clue to the left-field analysis in store, and the authors have a clear sense of irony, underhandedly implying that Vegas presents the worst in architecture while they appear to be praising its uniqueness. Unfortunately the narrative gets bogged down in dense professor-speak terminology like "Brazilianoid" and "neo-Constructivist megastructures," along with a general overload of obtuse theory. Add to that the poor-quality and under-elaborated illustrations and you have a book that sacrifices insight and readability in favor of pedantic attempts to impress the authors' colleagues. [~doomsdayer520~]

Robert Venturi's study of the Las Vegas signage phenomena and it's impact on "architecture" is brilliant in it's scope. While written almost twenty five years ago, this book gains more and more pertinence as we as a society progress further into a "reality" of symbols, reproductions and representations. These words and thoughts are basically essential to the understanding of any city anymore, not just Las Vegas. Where this book misses the mark though is in the execution, as shown in Venturi's work, of these ideas. The projects put forth seem to pale in comparison to the implications the text actually has. These notions of architecture are by far some of the most relevant and important in modern theory today, it is unfortunate that their full potential could not be realized in these projects.... but maybe that is for you and I to do.

I admire and respect Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown for their great career and contribution to architecture, which has yet to be fully assessed. The depth of their thinking, the vigilant efforts to achieve their aesthetic vision, their desire to overcome modernist dogma, which had mutated into marginalized elite uncivic abstraction, falsely denying vibrant areas of life...how can one argue with the importance and value of such work?

Let me try.

To me, this book represents one of the most interesting turning points of an architectural career, very similar to Rem Koolhaas' essay on Bigness in S,M,L,XL.

Both texts are attempting to give themselves an elite artist's alibi for co-opting the corporate machinery's unself-conscious production. Here, both artists (VRSB and OMA)attempt to escape into pop art, just like their friend Andy Warhol, thumbing his nose at the self important abstract expressionists.

There's just one problem with this; they are architects, not just artists.
And this places them in significantly different political territory. Architects build in the public sphere, and therefore have a powerful civic impact. They enable some political forces, and, by physical default, suppress others. If they were artists, their voice is a singular one, an unsponsored comment, to be entertained or dismissed. Architecture cannot be waved away.

So, being architects, is 'Learning from Las Vegas' and 'Bigness' an elite artist's manifesto, or a cynical architect's effort to solicit clients from the bloated and most lucrative areas of commerce? The ambiguity is disturbing, because ultimately it has proven out not to matter what their intention. Both Venturi and Rem Koolhaas have been most useful tools for the most egregious excesses of our runaway imperial corporate world.

And this is a sad legacy for two brilliant architectural careers. No matter what their aesthetic accomplishments in the way of rarified architectural thought, the more brutal reality is that architects seeking fame cannot also speak truth to power. This gravely undermines their civic responsibilities.
I am reminded of William Morris' quote, a sad retrospective look at his career, saying that ultimately, his work "only served the swinish luxuries of the rich." A bitter realization for a socialist, one who chose to retreat into archaic craft, instead of trendy pop.

Pop architecture is not a game. It is an insidious symptom of the polarization of wealth, a symptom that Venturi and Koolhaas cheerfully enable, both with their particular form of dissociating irony. They can play with it as a theory, but it has wrought disastrous consequences in the physical and political landscape. Same thing happened to Frank Gehry, another symptomatic starchitectural monster, who apparently doesn't need to theorize. Hard to say when the deal went down exactly. I just don't know.